


promise.

by route216



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: At Least Starting Out, Character Death, F/F, Feelspasta, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Real Life, Self-Esteem Issues, Warning: So Much Cheese You'll Prolly Leave Constipated, and Lyra is the New And Afraid One Who Clings To Kris For Support, and i will not hear otherwise, honestly this can be read as either romantic or platonic it doesnt really effect anything, kris is The Veteran Whos Not Scared Of Anything, lore behind lyra's hat, man i was so proud of that as a kid lmao, remaking pkmn games is treated like a Holiday of some sort in this, very mild blood mention (and no its not hyper-realistic lol)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 13:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21428830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/route216/pseuds/route216
Summary: A special Celebi event showcases not Giovanni's past, but what had been a short, but very special friendship. (something else from my pokepasta days that i decided to post here.)
Relationships: Kotone | Lyra/Kris
Kudos: 2





	promise.

**Author's Note:**

> bc this is Def going to require some context: this was actually part of a series about a duo that researched Haunted Games or w/e that i wrote in my Teenage PokePasta phase (thats who the two people at the beginning are!). this was like, the third installment i think?? hell if i remember anymore
> 
> additionally, I was reeeeally tired of all the fanstuff that depicted Lyra and Kris as enemies/depicted Kris hating Lyra/etc (and if you were in the fandom 2009 you Know how much of that there was) esp bc right off of the bat I saw them as friends (.. and may or may not have been a hardcore Kris/Lyra shipper back in the day) And On Top Of That I wanted to write something sad to vent some Depression so. This Happened 
> 
> Per Usual revisions have been made but it is completely unbeta'd and any mistakes/oversights/plot holes are mine
> 
> thats all 🌹

So…

It's you again.

Tell me, friend, what compels you to come here?

I take it that you enjoy hearing my long and dragging stories of want I've dedicated my life to?

If so, I'm surprised… I would have thought that no one would be interested in this after the first log.

I thank you for visiting me.

You've visited me for a few days now, but I had no stories to tell you…

Today, I do.

Very early this morning at around 6:00 AM, I chose to take a short walk. I only walked as far as the restaurant near my home; there were already people at the patio tables. I took a seat at an empty one, the warm morning air and the pleasant conversations within earshot comforting me.

"Hi there. You’re up early."

I looked up in surprise to see my partner.

"Oh, good morning. What brings you here?" I asked.

"I’m not sure, really; I just wanted to take a step outside."

"Same here… Come sit with me."

As he sat down, I noticed that he had his own Nintendo DS with him.

"Have you got something to show me today?" I asked.

"Hm? Oh, no, actually. I just brought this along with me; I needed some entertainment.”

"Ah, understood. What are you playing at the moment?"

"HeartGold.”

"A normal one?"

"Yep, same one I’ve had for a year now."

"I see. Where are you, currently?"

"Ilex Forest. About to take that event Celebi I got the other day over to that shrine."

"To unlock that Giovanni event?"

"You bet!"

"May I watch? I wouldn’t mind seeing it again."

"Sure! But let’s head back to your place. It’ll make it easier for you to watch."

“Alright.”

When we returned to my home, we did just as we’d planned, and I watched as he enacted the event. Ethan, the male protagonist of HGSS, was being teleported from the present via the shrine, setting the Giovanni event in motion…

Or, so we thought.

Just read this.

* * *

_Day: XXXX XXXXth, 20XX_

_Time: 6:35:28 PM _

_Full Summary: _

It was inside of a seemingly normal Pokémon HeartGold game.

My partner and I were together, about to watch the Celebi event in the Ilex Forest. As soon as Ethan was teleported, the screen remained dark until white words appeared, reading as follows:

> "This takes place a long time ago…
> 
> After the first reign…
> 
> Before Johto evolved…
> 
> Before the new…"

Because I had already completed the event already in my own copy of HeartGold, my partner, bewildered, asked me what the words meant. I watched the color drain from his face when I reluctantly informed him that I hadn’t seen such a thing in my experience with the event; he knew as well as I that something abnormal was about to happen. So, we both stayed quiet and moved on, as everything seemed to be mild enough at the time. We were still nervous, however, especially due to the fact that, unlike the previous finds, we couldn't control anything this time; we could only watch.

The next screen was a shot of New Bark Town, though it had a more old-fashioned color scheme than normal — it was in its same pseudo-3D Generation IV model, but the color palette was closer to that of the original GSC New Bark Town. The camera slowly panned in on the protagonist’s home, until the screen faded into its interior, a young woman sitting at the middle table; I quickly noticed that it was the mother from the original GSC, not the one from HGSS, also revamped, but with the GSC Pallet. Then, we heard the “going down the stairs” sound effect.

"Kristal?” the mother said.

"Wait… ‘Kristal’?" my partner said. "As in…?"

"Yes, mother,” said someone offscreen. “I'm coming down."

Both my and partner and I were shocked to see Kris, the very first playable female Pokémon character in the entire series, appear onscreen and walk over to the table where her mother was sitting.

"Dear… It's been so long since you've been out to see the rest of Johto," her mother said.

Kris responded, "Yes, I know. I haven’t been out and about since I left Kanto. To be honest, I miss my travels, and I’m sure Gold does too."

"The Revamping is tomorrow, dear. You'll be out and up again soon, just like you used to."

"I can hardly wait to see everyone again…"

"Me neither, darling."

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound effect; something unusual in core Pokémon games.

"Come in!" Kris’s mother said.

Someone, more than likely whoever was outside the door, said offscreen, "I'm kind of nervous, Mom… What if they don’t like me?"

"It's alright, honey. Just take it easy, talk calmly, and be polite, just as you’ve been."

Two people walked in, and I was surprised to see Lyra, the female protagonist that replaced Kris in HGSS, and the HGSS mother coming in right behind her.

"Oh, hello there!" Kris's mother said.

"You both must be new here,” Kris said. “I haven’t seen you around…”

"My…” Lyra said. “My… my name's Lyra…”

Lyra’s mother said, "The poor thing; she's a tad shy. We just moved here, you see! We're getting familiar with all of the faces here in the neighborhood."

"Ah, well, welcome to Johto," said Kris. “I hope you like it here!"

"Happy to meet you two!" Kris's mother said.

"Th…Thank you." Lyra said. "So… Now what, mom?"

"We still have to find somewhere to stay for the time being until our new house is cleared," her mother answered.

"Wait," Kris said, "if it’s alright with you, madam, I'd like to show Lyra around a bit."

"Who… Me?” Lyra said.

“Mmhm!”

"…Can I, mom?"

"Yes, dear," Lyra's mother said. "It’ll do you some good. Just be careful! I’ll be here chatting with Kris’s mother."

"Alright, I will!”

Kris walked over to Lyra.

“See you later, mother!" Kris said.

With that, they both left.

“My little girl…” Kris’s mother said. “Even though she doesn't think so, she’s accomplished so much. I’m so proud of her.”

Lyra’s mother responded, “I have high hopes for my Lyra… She might not think she will, but she’ll come very far in her life, I’m sure.”

“Absolutely.”

The screen then went black, and a text box appeared at the bottom of the screen, a sinister red font reading as follows:

"There she is; the girl who made a mockery of us."

"Wow, check out her hat! And the overalls! She's changed…"

"Not HER you idiot! I mean the who's WITH the big-hatted girl!"

"… I knew that."

"She’ll pay with her life… In time for the Revamping, we’ll reign once more… We WILL get our leader BACK!"

Neither I nor my partner knew who that was talking, and we didn't dwell on it. I felt an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach, however, and I’m sure he did as well — like something terrible was about to happen.

When the screen faded back in, the screen showed Lyra and Kris walking west of Cherrygrove City, Lyra following behind Kris. "

"…And that’s Cherrygrove, home to flowers and aromas," said Kris.

"It's so beautiful…” Lyra said.

"Isn’t it though? By the way… You've got a very neat outfit. I don’t see girls in overalls that much."

"You think so?" Lyra said. "A little fun fact about it; this was my mother's when she was young. This style was popular on her side of the family. Still is! When I was a little girl, I loved it so much that she let me have it when I got older! This hat could barely fit me when I was a toddler…"

"Ha, very cute…"

"Also… Can I ask you something? What is ‘revamping’ that I keep hearing about?”

"Well, Lyra," Kris answered. "The Revamping is when a huge change takes place in a region, like an enormous makeover, kind of. Houses get repainted, trainers get restart their adventures from scratch… I hear that even the music that cities play gets remastered. The Revamping has happened in Kanto twice already, and now it’s our turn. I'm super excited, to say the least!”

“Wow, that’s so cool!”

“Hey… How would you like to celebrate it with me, and explore Johto with me when I start my adventure again? I'd love to have some more company this time."

"Really? You really mean it? I'd absolutely love to, but… I’m nervous…"

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll be with you the whole way through.”

Just then, something leapt out of the water near the west bay of the city, and the screen flashed, a battle staring.

"Wild MARILL appeared!"

Kris's revamped backsprite was showcased, and she began acting on her own, sending out Meganuim. But, Kris didn't have it attack; instead, she went through her bag and selected a PokéBall. She then caught the Marill with only a single throw.

After the battle scene faded out, Lyra said, "Wow, that was awesome!"

Kris walked over to Lyra, and asked her, "Say…Do you have a Pokémon yet?"

"No, actually… I've always wanted one, though, but I’ve always felt too scared to get one myself...."

"Then, here. This MARILL is all yours, a gift from me to you."

Lyra hopped a little. "For me? Really? Thank you so much..."

"You'll be a great trainer, Lyra; even though you might not believe it, I know you will."

"You...You've been so nice to me…"

"You're a sweetheart, and I'm so glad to make a new friend, especially with someone like you."

"But... How come? There's nothing special about me."

"Take it from me; even though you might not believe it, you matter."

"Kris..."

"Now, come on, let's go to the next route and let me teach you how to battle."

“OK!”

With that, they began to walk to the next route. Before they walked offscreen, however, Lyra stopped, and Kris did right after.

“Something wrong?” Kris asked.

"Kris, I've had this odd feeling…” Lyra replied. “Almost like we're being… watched?"

"Don't think about it too hard. That’s totally normal for someone who’s anxious."

“You’re right. Let’s go!”

And with that, they walked offscreen. The screen dimmed out again, and the text box appeared with the same intimidating font, reading;

"We’re getting closer…"

"Her end is near…"

"We’ll get our revenge. And no one can stop us."

"We must wait for the right moment… Then, she pays.”

“And so does that mother of hers."

This wasn’t a good sign. Whoever was speaking, they clearly had it in for Kris and her family… They wanted her dead. But there was nothing I could do, nothing my partner could do, but watch. Then, when the text box vanished, white words appeared on the black screen left over.

"One hour left."

Another scene faded in, this one showing Kris and Lyra on route 30, standing in a patch of grass.

"MEGANIUM, use Body Slam!" Kris said.

"..."

"Yay, you won! Awesome job, Kris!" said Lyra.

"Now... I want you to try."

"O... Ok..."

"Don't be afraid, I'm right here."

The screen cut to black again before fading into route 30 once more.

"Oh no, Kris... I see a LEDYBA coming!" Lyra said.

"Alright, time to send out your MARILL!"

"My heart's beating so fast ...Could you maybe... hold my hand?"

"Of course I will... Come here."

Another cut to black, then fade-in to the same route.

"MARILL, use... use... Water Gun, that's it!" said Lyra.

"There you go!" said Kris.

"Oh no, it didn't hit..."

"That's completely fine, missing is normal. Just try again."

Another fade-out to black, another fade-in to route 30.

"Alright, Lyra... Just one more move! You can do it!"

"MARILL... Use Tackle!"

"..."

"I did it, I did it! I won!"

"Very nice job!!

"Thank you!"

"What a happy smile you've got, it's making ME happy just looking at you!"

"Hee hee!"

After the next cut to black, this time the duo stood in front of Kris’s house, presumingly after a day’s worth of training.

“So… You get what being a trainer is all about, now?”

"Yes!" said Lyra. "And you're really good... I learned a lot!"

"You’ve done great at memorizing things; you're going to be a good trainer during the Revamping."

“…Thank you for being so patient and gentle with me. Everyone else gets mad at me for being shy, and for not understanding things right away…”

“There’s nothing wrong with you. Learn things at your own pace; no one understands everything in the exact same way, and that’s alright. Trust me when I say; there are many, many things I don’t understand. Ha, who knows, traveling with you will probably teach me some things.”

“Th…Thank you so much, that means a lot to me…”

"Let's go back to my house now, Lyra. I'm sure our moms want to know how we are."

They, with the help of one of Kris's Pokémon, flew back to New Bark, where they walked back into Kris’s house.

"Oh, welcome back!” Kris's mother said when the screen cut to the interior.

"Are you alright, Lyra?" asked Lyra's mother.

"Yep, more than alright!” exclaimed Lyra, “Kris gave me a Marill! She showed me how to battle, catch Pokémon, and everything!” exclaimed Lyra.

"Wow, that's great! I'm so glad for you!"

Lyra's mother said. “Mom… Can I go with Kris when the Revamping starts?”

“Oh? You sure you’ll be alright without me?”

“Yep, Kris makes me feel safe!”

“Ah, then go on ahead! I’ll be rooting for you, darling!”

“I will too,” Kris’s mother said. “We’ll all celebrate tomorrow togeth-”

She was interrupted when the lights turned off, and right at that moment, my stomach lurched.

“Hm?” said Lyra’s mother. “A power outage?”

When the lights turned back on seconds later, four new figures were standing in the room, front of the group. I recognized them immediately. They were Team Rocket's admins — Proton, Archer, Petrel, and Ariana.

"Wait… You….? I… I thought I…!" Kris started to say.

"…Defeated us? You thought wrong, child," Proton said.

"Kris..." Lyra said. "Who are these people?"

"Ha, such precious ignorance," Archer said.

"Well, I wouldn’t call it that,” said Petrel. “I mean, she IS new here…"

"Shut it," Ariana said.

"Sorry!”

"Back to the issue at hand; we've been watching you, Kris. And now that we’ve found you, we’ll introduce you to our inner anger."

"With this Revamping, comes our opportunity…"

Kris said, "Lyra, take your mother and get out of here!"

"What? But… What about you and YOUR mom?"

"Get out of here! PLEASE!" Kris's mother said, "Forget about us! LEAVE!"

"N…No!" Lyra said. "You stayed with me, guided me, and made me feel good about myself, made me feel welcome and wanted by someone other than my mother for once in my life... I won't just abandon you like that!!"

"Do it for me, Lyra... Please.”

"Aw,” Ariana said. “How disgustingly touching.”

"Always so foolishly kindhearted…” Pretrel said.

"And now…" Proton said.

"IT WILL BE YOUR UNDOING!" Archer said.

The screen lit up in a blinding light, and text boxes appeared, saying;

"Can't see, can you?"

"In the name of our leader!!”

"…"

"…I…!!!"

My partner and I exchanged silent glances, and I could tell that he knew, as well as I, what had just happened.

The screen cleared up, and what was shown next made my stomach drop even more. The executives were nowhere to be found, and both Kris and her mother were on the floor, each in a pixilated puddle of red.

"Ugh, my eyes…" Lyra said.

"Lyra!! Are you OK?" her mother asked.

" … Oh… Oh no…"

“It…It can’t be…”

Lyra ran over to Kris, her mother running over to Kris’s mother.

"Kris! KRIS!” Lyra said. “Wake up… Wake up, please....!"

Kris's sprite quivered, and she said, text moving slower than usual, “Lyra… I… I'm so sorry. I won't see it with you… Forgive me."

" Kris… Kris, please, no…”

"I can't… I'm done…"

Kris's mother shook as well, and said, "I am too… But, please…"

Kris said, "Take my place, my new friend."

An exclamation appeared over Lyra's sprite, and she said, "What… Replace… you? But I… How?"

"You're so, so much stronger than you think you are. Travel through Johto. Make new friends. Challenge the Elite Four. Enjoy your new life. Meet the people that I won't be able to meet anymore now. Enjoy tomorrow. You and your MARILL."

Both Kris and her mother began fading away, little by little.

"And," the mother said, "stay here. Watch over our home. It's yours now."

"Ours?!" Lyra's mother exclaimed.

"That's right. Begin your journey in the same place I did; right here in New Bark," said Kris.

"But… No one will like that… That I'm taking your place…" Lyra said.

"They aren’t going to remember me, they won't even notice I'm gone."

"But... Why? Why wouldn't they?"

"Don't let our outing fool you; I'm nothing special, I'm nothing important."

"B... But... That's... That's just not true..."

"Everyone will welcome you with open arms, Lyra, I know they will. And whether others like it or not; it doesn't matter. It’s my final wish… Keep wearing that smile. For me."

“I… I…”

“Promise?”

“…Y…Yes. I promise. I’ll try so hard to make you proud of me.”

“The fact that you gained the courage to even begin a journey... I already am.”

I placed a hand on my partner’s shoulder as lip began to tremble, his eyes growing wet, as mine were.

"Kris… Thank you, for everything,”

"No… Thank you, Lyra,” said Kris.

"Good... Goodbye, Kris."

“Goodbye, Lyra, my friend.”

And, with that, she faded away completely, along with her mother.

Seconds after they vanished, Lyra rushed out of the house.

"Lyra, sweetheart, wait…" the mother said.

The screen faded to black, but soon cut to showing Lyra at the bay near Cherrygrove, standing next to her Marill, who emitted a cry, likely attempting to comfort its trainer.

Her mother came in from the east, saying, "Lyra, it’s getting dark, please come home … “

"…Mama,” Lyra said, “it was right here when Kris caught MARILL for me, and where she said she wanted to celebrate The Revamping with me, right here on this spot…"

"Lyra, my darling…"

"Alright, I'm coming…"

She followed her mother to their home. Back at the house, the mother said, "Honey, I know how shaken up you are but, try your best to get some rest. This is our home now… And the Revamping is tomorrow."

"...Mom?"

"Hm?"

"I... I want to defeat those people; the ones she beat before, that took her away from me. And... One day, I will."

"..."

"For Kris… For the region she loved."

Not saying another word to her mother, Lyra went into Kris's, or rather, her room, and said one last thing.

"Goodbye again, Kris. I won't ever forget you, no one will, because…"

The screen faded to black on final time, and the white words that appeared read:

> _"…Even though you might not believe it, you matter."_

With that, Ethan was then taken back to the shrine, and it was over.

My partner had long since burst into a still-flowing sea of tears, and I was on the very brink. Even though it wasn't conventional, straightforward horror, even though there were no ghosts or excessive gore, it was by far the most gut-wrenching, most agonizing thing either of us had ever seen, and probably ever will see, during our studies.

"So, that’s why…" my partner choked out.

“…Kris was absent,” I finished, a single tear finally making its way down my cheek.

“I… Kris was my favorite…”

“Same here…”

“…I'm sorry, but I just... can’t talk about this anymore.”

"Understandable. Go home, drink some water, and get some rest. We’ll take a break from these things for a while, alright?"

“Alright… Thank you.”

With a nod, he left, his DS clutched tightly in a shaking hand.

_End._

**Author's Note:**

> Final Note: We All Need Motivational Kris In Our Lives


End file.
